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Culture Comforts | The More Seasons, The More Serenity
Even though it feels permanent, in reality, nearly everything changes. Even culture. And that’s not necessarily bad, it’s just life. I for one don’t rely on anything in this world for serious long-lasting comfort. My favourite books? How can I read them when my eyes are burning from that 100-page reading due in two days? My favourite songs? Love them tbh, but is a 3-minute … Continue reading Culture Comforts | The More Seasons, The More Serenity
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Exam Study Guide: How to Double the Day
To begin to give my advice on studying for this exam season, I must take you back to December of my first year. Multiple deadlines looming – the sky growing dark, the winter chill biting the air – my lovely flatmate Anna and I sat across from one another at our kitchen table and lamented. I had three essays due the same day, Anna had … Continue reading Exam Study Guide: How to Double the Day
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Creative Corner: The Hunted
The study was alive with anticipation. Camouflage jackets and pants were strewn over chairs. Outside the house, the sky was still dark. Faint pink hues had begun to taint the clouds, but they were barely visible through layers of fog and steamed up windows. The five men inside the room were talking animatedly, their voices groggy in the early hours but bristling unmistakably with excitement. … Continue reading Creative Corner: The Hunted
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Reading Corner: Jarvis Cocker’s ‘Good Pop, Bad Pop’
As a lover of 90s alternative music and all things Britpop, of course I couldn’t resist picking up the life story, or ‘loft story’ of the band Pulp’s leading man, Jarvis Cocker. Unlike any autobiography I have ever encountered before, ‘Good Pop Bad Pop’ explores the unique and eccentric life of Jarvis as he sorts through his loft. Jarvis finds the most bizarre, random items … Continue reading Reading Corner: Jarvis Cocker’s ‘Good Pop, Bad Pop’
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Creative Corner: The Mystery of Dawlish
DRAMATIS PERSONAEInvestigative Journalists: Anna KaneAnna Malik.Wendy, owner of The Puzzled Sweet Shop.Mabel, ghost.Lee Anderson, inmate of local prison.The Rector, of Dawlish churchSarah, “at number 17”.Shop owners, landlords, locals. SCENE: Dawlish, a small town in South Devon. A place that, at first glance, seems quaint and peaceful. In reality, the seaside town harbours many a mystery… Case File 1: “Trouble in Paradise” The end of March … Continue reading Creative Corner: The Mystery of Dawlish
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Creative Corner: Excerpts from Paris
Below is the resulting draft from a prompt I set myself, in an attempt to capture the dialogue of a more commercial, Coco Mellors-esque style of fiction. (Disclaimer: I’m aware that the characters are far from likeable in this scene. Apologies in advance. I’m still deciding to what extent they may go on to redeem themselves…) Paris, 1991 I met Camille exactly three months ago, … Continue reading Creative Corner: Excerpts from Paris
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Exeter Opportunities: Teach First
*Paid partnership* Leadership opportunities for students at Exeter: shape the future of education with TeachFirst Over the past few months, I’ve spoken with many students across campus about their futureplans after they graduate. Students often tell me they want to make a difference and have a purposein their future careers but aren’t quite sure how. If this relates in any way to the position you … Continue reading Exeter Opportunities: Teach First
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Review: Theatre with Teeth’s ‘Stable?’
Trigger Warnings: Self-harm, Suicide, Drug abuse, Extreme portrayals of grief. This review contains mild spoilers for ‘Stable?’ When I first heard about Theatre With Teeth’s newest production ‘Stable?’, I was hesitant. Like many others, suicide can be quite a triggering topic for me if it isn’t written with great sensitivity. However, I have to admit I left Kay House on Friday moved. ‘Stable?’ follows the … Continue reading Review: Theatre with Teeth’s ‘Stable?’
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An Interview with Theatre With Teeth Society
Theatre with Teeth is one of the many creative societies we are lucky to have here at the University of Exeter. This society really allows students to unleash their inner playwright! With workshops, classes, shows and even festivals, Theatre with Teeth pushes artistic individuals beyond expectations. Encouraging everyone to be involved and even produce student-written plays, Theatre with Teeth is a society that allows amazing opportunities for all theatre-loving students! Continue reading An Interview with Theatre With Teeth Society
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Lesbian Representation: Is Netflix Lesbiphobic?
With the exception of Orange is the New Black, many shows featuring lesbian relationships have been cancelled after the first few seasons by Netflix over the past couple of years. Netflix claims it is part of the cost inflicted by Covid, but with three shows containing lesbian leads – I am Not Okay With This, The Society and Atypical – being cancelled in 2023 within a week of each other, Netflix streamers are questioning the intentionality of these cancellations. Both Teenage Bounty Hunters and First Kill have also not been picked up by Netflix for a second season. First Kill, released in June 2022, was in Netflix’s top ten TV list for three weeks. The cancellation of such popular shows has outraged fans and caused them to criticise the pattern of cancelling queer-led shows, specifically those that feature sapphic relationships. Continue reading Lesbian Representation: Is Netflix Lesbiphobic?
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Underrated Queer Artists: Arca
Finding its rightful place on the ethereal soundscapes of kick iiii, ‘Lost Woman Found’ comes as part of Venezuelan-born producer Alejandra Ghersi’s most recent seminal pentalogy of albums. Known as the ‘Kick Cycle’ by fans (coined ‘mutants’; a recurrent motif in Arca’s work and a nod to her 2015 release of the same name), the five albums impose a transhumanist bent onto explorations of gender identity. … Continue reading Underrated Queer Artists: Arca
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Review: Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Shouldering the burden of a franchise dormant of its mournful beginnings and bastardised legacy, Godzilla Minus One has successfully reinvented and reawakened the interest in an eminent character pivotal to modern cinema. Director Takashi Yamazaki has simultaneously birthed a masterpiece about the importance of forever pushing onward that respects Godzilla’s legacy whilst posing itself as an antithesis to said history, and you owe it to … Continue reading Review: Godzilla Minus One (2023)
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Underrated Queer Artists: Reneé Rapp
As 2024 progresses, Reneé Rapp has received the well-deserved attention to both her music and acting abilities. With her position in The Sex Lives of College Girls, a comedy-drama running from 2021 onwards, alongside the renowned role of Regina George in the new 2024 Mean Girls: The Musical film, Rapp has built a name for herself on the screen. The 24-year-old star has a voice … Continue reading Underrated Queer Artists: Reneé Rapp
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Tackling Bisexual Erasure
As the third letter in LGBTQ+, bisexuality has become recognised in the queer community and in wider society. Bisexuality has also begun to be better represented in mainstream media, for example Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Despite this improvement, bisexual erasure still remains, often arising from other misunderstandings of the identity. It is also important to clarify that this is not a problem specific to … Continue reading Tackling Bisexual Erasure
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Underrated Queer Artists: Dodie
‘She’ by Dodie was the first sapphic song I ever heard, and I immediately fell in love with Dodie’s gentle melodic voice. The softness of Dodie’s vocals encapsulates the gentle message of the song. It is a tentative love song, yet simultaneously rooted in pain and shame. Beginning with the lines “Am I allowed, to look at her like that? Could it be wrong, when … Continue reading Underrated Queer Artists: Dodie
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Transgender Joy
As someone who has struggled with their identity for many years, the concept of ‘trans joy’ seemed way out of my reach for a long time. It felt incomprehensible that someone could find joy in something which I found complicated, arduous and difficult, and it is largely through the rise of trans personalities online, such as Ezra Butler, detailing their experiences that I have been … Continue reading Transgender Joy
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Exeter Events: Creative Writing Society’s Open Mic Night
Last week, I attended Creative Writing society’s open mic night at the Cocktail Club. While I have been to many open mic nights before, these were often contained within a single society, while this was an ambitious collaboration for Creative Writing society, inviting members of Her Campus, Podcast society, Comedy society, Theatre with Teeth, and Razz Magazine. I was certainly excited, but unsure on what … Continue reading Exeter Events: Creative Writing Society’s Open Mic Night
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Celebrating Queer Creators: Xana
An upcoming queer pop artist based in Vancouver, I relish Xana’s normalising take on sapphic relationships. She defies the heteronormative pop industry, producing song after song of relatable lesbian hits, eloquently expressing her personal experiences of unrequited sapphic love through diverse emotional tonalities, akin to the vast range of emotions entangled with such experiences. Through her raw storytelling lyricism, Xana paves the way for LGBTQ+ … Continue reading Celebrating Queer Creators: Xana
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University Drinking Culture
University life is often portrayed as a time for self-exploration, academic discovery, and the development of lifelong friendships. For many, attending university offers the first opportunity to experience independent living and manage adult responsibilities without parental oversight. However, one issue that often goes unaddressed is the prevalence of excessive drinking culture on campuses worldwide. Binge drinking, teenage alcoholism, and the normalization of heavy alcohol consumption … Continue reading University Drinking Culture
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Creative Corner | Tale of a Story
Tale of a Story Thalia, the muse, dangled on his shoulderand jabbered nonsense in his ear.Ecstatic, mind-hungry, he cast a pebbleupon cragged walls, and drew a story: A lonely bard travelling centuriespaused in that misplaced caveand upon its chalked and battered sideswitnessed immortal flesh and memory. A humble scribe in humble hallsfelt magic glance his ear;a restless, throbbing fable whichcaused him to snap his quill. … Continue reading Creative Corner | Tale of a Story
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An Enduring Fellowship – A Retrospective Review of the Lord of the Rings
Over the second weekend in February, Exeter’s Campus Cinema, alongside Tolkien Society, screened the Lord of the Rings trilogy. As someone who attended all three showings, I was reminded of the enduring effect the films retain to this day. Despite the immense length of the three movies (Return of the King is infamously longer than four hours in its extended form), dozens of students turned … Continue reading An Enduring Fellowship – A Retrospective Review of the Lord of the Rings
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Singles Roundup: ‘Lonely Dancers’ by Conan Gray
Ahead of Valentines Day, Conan Gray has released a single person’s anthem. ‘Lonely Dancers’ showcases Conan’s vocal talent, inclusive of his signature background harmonies and catchy chorus. The eighties synth-infused song is reminiscent of the works of Michael Jackson. The fourth song to be teased and released from Conan’s upcoming album, Found Heaven – out April 5th – ‘Lonely Dancers’ takes on an electronic sound … Continue reading Singles Roundup: ‘Lonely Dancers’ by Conan Gray
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Review: Psychological Thriller Meets Musical Theatre, in Shotgun’s ‘Carrie’
Carrie the Musical is a startling reminder of how devastating the impacts of familial abuse and bullying can be on young people and their wider community. Stephen King’s story builds up to a school prom massacre, framed by interviews with its only survivor, Sue, and centring the incredibly disturbing relationship between outcast Carrie and her fervently religious mother. Shotgun’s powerful production was directed by Cara … Continue reading Review: Psychological Thriller Meets Musical Theatre, in Shotgun’s ‘Carrie’
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Review: What is Good? The Twisted Reality of Shotgun’s ‘Carrie’
Based on the Stephen King novel, Shotgun Theatre took us back to the night of destruction with their musical adaptation of Carrie. After its 1988 release on Broadway that did not last more than 5 shows, it is safe to say that Shotgun’s attempt was much more successful and will most definitely be lasting all of its scheduled shows at the Barnfield Theatre. The plotline … Continue reading Review: What is Good? The Twisted Reality of Shotgun’s ‘Carrie’
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RAZZ Writer Playlists: February
Currently betwixt a seasonal transition, Sadhbh Holden shares her top tracks to listen to at this reflective time: 1. TV Girl – ‘Birds Dont Sing’ At the top we have ‘Birds Dont Sing’. This song is as equally ebullient as the other tracks on their album French Exit, with a very nostalgic quality reminiscent of earlier artists such as Morning Benders. 2. Phoenix – ‘After … Continue reading RAZZ Writer Playlists: February
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Review: The Power of Emotion in Shotgun Theatre’s ‘Carrie: The Musical’
Musicals are a particularly unique form of storytelling. The entire purpose of the form is to express overwhelming emotion; characters have feelings so strong, so earth-shatteringly significant, that the only way forward is to let them pour out in a physical manifestation of music and dance. In the case of Carrie White in Shotgun Theatre’s production of Carrie: The Musical, this overflowing of emotions communicated through song is mirrored in the titular character’s power of telekinesis. Continue reading Review: The Power of Emotion in Shotgun Theatre’s ‘Carrie: The Musical’
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‘Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides’: SOPHIE’s Legacy
Three years since the cosmic event of Sophie Xeon’s passing (mononymously known as SOPHIE), the electronic pioneer’s 2018 debut studio album OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES remains forever still monolithic – a chef d’oeuvre I would proudly proclaim as the greatest record of all time. What does it mean to be transgressive? The answer to this question (if there is one) lies in interpersonal subjectivity. For some, … Continue reading ‘Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides’: SOPHIE’s Legacy
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Creative Corner | The Revolt
Midnight neared, stars igniting one by one. The steady rumble of the freight train soothed Jasira’s anxiety as she meticulously dissembled and polished her rifle. They’d snuck onto the train and stole away into an empty shipping container just as dawn rose above the horizon and since then, she’d cleaned her weaponry a total of 23 times. No one had spoken, everyone entrapped in their … Continue reading Creative Corner | The Revolt
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Dissecting Media Double Standards
After hearing of the recent ASA-FKA twigs showdown, I had to double-check my calendar as I half-expected to discover I had time-travelled backwards from the supposedly progressive landscape of 2024. It seems as though every step taken towards gender equality is accompanied by the jarring blowback of double standards and blatant media misogyny. The clash between the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Calvin Klein unearths … Continue reading Dissecting Media Double Standards
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Exeter Events: Chill Hill
You’ve probably seen the posters around campus- the weather forecast is bringing snow to Exeter for one day only on the 17th of February – but what is Chill Hill? Continue reading Exeter Events: Chill Hill
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Reading Corner: The Story of Art Without Men
I have a confession to make. I have always hated art history. I studied art at A Level and Foundation Degree, but as soon as the word ‘history’ came into it, I would instantly clock out. I loved making art, I loved going to exhibitions and looking at art, but art history could send me to sleep. Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso – iconic, but boring. It … Continue reading Reading Corner: The Story of Art Without Men
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Year of the Girl
“What even is a ‘girl dinner?’” asks my downstairs neighbour, during one of our weekly get-togethers in his kitchen. “Is it just a mix of foods that have no nutritional value?” I try to explain to him the concept of a girl dinner. There’s no concrete definition that I can come up with – it could be a can of sweetcorn, three Digestive biscuits and/or … Continue reading Year of the Girl
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Celebrating Queer Creators: Claude Cahun
“Under this mask, another mask. I will never finish removing all these faces.” Angel, doll, weightlifter, gentleman – just some of the various personas Claude Cahun adopts in her self-portraits, using costume and makeup to transform herself into unconventional characters. Taken mostly in private by her creative and romantic partner Marcel Moore, these self-portraits are now probably her most famous works. Continue reading Celebrating Queer Creators: Claude Cahun
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New Year’s Resolutions and Self-Optimisation
A whopping 97% of Gen Z reported they would be make resolutions for 2024. Is this a promise that 2024 will be a positive year of collective growth, or a sign that our generation is overly ambitious, or worse, are slaves to trends? In this article I share my tips to creating and maintaining successful resolutions through redrafting and reframing the ‘New Year’ narrative. The … Continue reading New Year’s Resolutions and Self-Optimisation
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Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Growing up there was very little I loved more than Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series. I’ve read the extended Riordan universe multiple times and some of my most prized possessions are that of my 2000’s editions of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I even dragged my mum to midnight releases in bookshops! It goes without saying, then, that I was incredibly excited by the announcement of a new TV adaptation. When Disney + finally released the adaptation, in December of 2023, I was ready and waiting to be blown away. Continue reading Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
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Review: Poor Things (2024)
Galvanised with visionary and childlike wonder – just like protagonist Bella Baxter – Poor Things is an experiment that often works. Based on the postmodernist novel by Alasdair Gray, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest undertaking is equal parts Amelie and Frankenstein, serving as a dark and whimsical deep dive into the deathly dysfunctional aspects of Victorian polite society. The first act of the film operates as … Continue reading Review: Poor Things (2024)
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Reading Corner: No One Is Talking About This
Novels often struggle to say something substantial about the ever-presence of the internet in our lives – we are a generation painfully aware that we are chronically online, that we are rotting our brains with memes and collectively losing hours of our lives to the TikTok rabbit hole. No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood follows a woman who becomes increasingly dependent on … Continue reading Reading Corner: No One Is Talking About This
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Retrospective: French Exit by TV Girl
In the summer of 2014, American indie band TV Girl released their debut studio album, French Exit. With inspiration from hip-hop, commercial pop and older samples, this album helped pave the way for artists to independently create genre-blending records. TV Girl are originally from San Diego, California and currently consist of three musicians: Brad Petering, Jason Wyman, and Wyatt Harmon. French Exit is an album … Continue reading Retrospective: French Exit by TV Girl
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Surviving Spring Semester
As a final year student entering my last ever spring semester, I’d like to think I may have finally cracked the code to combining productivity whilst maintaining an active social life at University. As my dissertation looms, it has been imperative to remain focussed, whilst desperately attempting to ward off academic burnout. To help me stay on track, I have set myself fortnightly mini deadlines … Continue reading Surviving Spring Semester
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Awards Season 2024
It’s awards season in Hollywood: here’s everything you have missed so far, and what is still to come! January for most of us is a quiet, uneventful month, but not for the Barbenheimer casts and the rest of Hollywood, as awards season for film, music and TV is in full swing! Amongst some huge names receiving huge wins, there have also been some huge snubs … Continue reading Awards Season 2024
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Culture Comforts: Landslide
Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide is a song which continues to resonate with me, ever since I first heard it. I remember going to my grandparents’ house, a few days after singing in a school musical which I had invited them to, and my Grandad playing the song on his guitar. He’d asked me to sing the song with him but I was too embarrassed to, despite … Continue reading Culture Comforts: Landslide
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Review: Napoleon (2023)
Napoleon was a celebrity in his own time; a commander, an emperor, a brute. More recently, he has been popularised in film and TV; from an angry side-antagonist in Night at the Museum 2, to the ever-iconic ABBA song ‘Waterloo’ which takes its name from the location of his final defeat. With that in mind, the announcement that Ridley Scott (director of Gladiator and The … Continue reading Review: Napoleon (2023)
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2024 Reading Goals
From what seems like the dawn of time, I have lived and died by my yearly reading goals. I am one of the millions of people who wait patiently for the clock to strike midnight on New Years Eve before setting my Goodreads goal and wait in eager anticipation for the yearly reading goal colour to be revealed. If you are unfamiliar with the book … Continue reading 2024 Reading Goals
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Reading Corner: Talking at Night
“I figure we’re all dying with every day, he says. So we might as well do what we want before it happens.” – Claire Daverley, Talking at Night Over the past few years, my wish to read in my free time has diminished dramatically. With a degree that demands a lot of required reading, I found that reading had become a chore, and not something I … Continue reading Reading Corner: Talking at Night
RAZZ 